1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to information processing method and apparatus in which different kinds of data included in data input as locus information are divided so that a respective process adapted for each divided data can be executed.
Also, it relates to data processing method and apparatus and, more particularly, to handwriting-character recognizing method and apparatus in which an input locus is recognized as an operation command with pen and digitizer used as coordinate pointing means, or character recognition is executed by recognizing the input locus.
2. Related Background Art
In a conventional apparatus for executing handwriting-character recognition, one character of stroke data is extracted so that character recognition is executed for the one character by using the stroke data as data to be input in the recognition process. Such handwriting-character recognition can be executed on the assumption that the stroke data to be input here are only stroke data constituting a character to be recognized. In other words, the character-recognition process is a process for executing character recognition only.
Many electronic devices for pen input include gesture command input means which can input, in an input mode, not only characters or locus information, but also operation commands using a pen.
Conventionally, each of such gesture commands has an input locus predetermined for each command, so that the corresponding command is executed when the predetermined input locus is recognized.
To clearly discriminate the gesture commands from mere locus or character inputs to be recognized, the gesture commands can be executed in a different mode, or formats of gesture input and character input can be defined separately. As such above, the conventional apparatus is designed to perform the character input and the command input in a different manner that only characters are input in the character input process, and various types of commands are input as gesture commands after end operation of character recognition.
In such an apparatus, however, control of the character-recognition process or execution of other command often need executing during character input such as to specify the type of an input character during character input or to learn a recognition pattern.
The conventional apparatus nevertheless requires an operator or user to intentionally perform the character input for character recognition and the gesture input for command execution, separately, and this gives the user trouble.
Also, such control means depend on the type of a character-recognition engine used for character recognition and, if the recognition processing engine can be rearranged in each system like a conventional front-end processor for Kana-Kanji conversion, it is impossible to previously incorporate all the recognition control means into the system.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances as aforementioned, and an object thereof is to provide data processing method and apparatus which can recognize data and a given command for the data individually even when inputting the data and command together so that a process corresponding to the given command is executed for the data.
In attaining the above object, an image inputting method according to the present invention include:
a first-stroke input step for inputting a first stroke;
a second-stroke input step for inputting a second stroke; and
a second-stroke processing step, when the first stroke and a given stroke match with each other, for executing a given process for the second stroke.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an image inputting apparatus including:
first-stroke input means for inputting a first stroke;
second-stroke input means for inputting a second stroke; and
second-stroke processing means, when the first stroke and a given stroke match with each other, for executing a given process for the second stroke, wherein
the first and second strokes are input to the same input location by the first-stroke input means and the second-stroke input means, respectively.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus including:
input means for inputting strokes;
extraction means for extracting a given stroke from all the input strokes;
selection means for selecting a corresponding symbol based on all the strokes but the one extracted in the extraction means; and
symbol processing means for executing, for the symbol, a given process corresponding to the given stroke.